Instone Air Line was an early British airline from

1919 Events January * January 1 ** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (now Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia. ** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off the ...

to 1924. Along with other private airlines of the time, it was absorbed into

Imperial Airways Imperial Airways was the early British commercial long-range airline, operating from 1924 to 1939 and principally serving the British Empire routes to Union of South Africa, South Africa, British India, India, Australia and the Far East, inclu ...

. This airline is not to be confused with Instone Air Line (1981) of Stansted, which operated from 1981 to about 1996 with

Bristol Freighter The Bristol Type 170 Freighter is a British twin-engine aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company as both a freighter and airliner. Its best known use was as an air ferry to carry cars and their passengers over relatively s ...

and

Douglas DC-6 The Douglas DC-6 is a piston-powered airliner and cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1946 to 1958. Originally intended as a military transport near the end of World War II, it was reworked after the war to compete with ...

History

S. Instone & Company Limited, a shipping company set up by Sir Samuel Instone, had operated a private air service from

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...

via London's

Hounslow Heath Aerodrome Hounslow Heath Aerodrome was a grass airfield, operational 1914–1920. It was in the London borough of Hounslow, and hosted the British Empire's first scheduled daily international commercial flights, in 1919. The site today includes the main r ...

to Le Bourget aerodrome, near Paris, since 1919. From April 1920 it ran the service between London and Paris as a public service using the name Instone Air Line. In 1920 it was the first airline to transport a racehorse and on 1 January 1922 the company introduced uniforms to its pilots and staff; possibly the first airline to do so. It started a London to Cologne (

Butzweilerhof The Butzweilerhof was the civil airport of Cologne. It was established as a training airfield in 1912 and saw airline service from 1922 until the 1950s. It was replaced by the Cologne Bonn Airport. The airport buildings from 1935-36 are listed ...

) service in May 1922. It stopped operating the London-Paris route in October 1922 due to competition. In 1923, a Government committee recommended that the main British airlines should merge, to establish one, financially strong, airline, and to enable it to undertake the necessary expansions. Following this recommendation,

was created on 1 April 1924, absorbing the assets and routes of

Handley Page Transport Handley Page Transport Ltd was an airline company founded in 1919, soon after the end of the First World War, by Frederick Handley Page. The company's first planes were Handley Page Type O/400 bombers modified for passenger use. They flew a ...

, Instone Air Line, Daimler Airway and

British Marine Air Navigation Co Ltd British Marine Air Navigation Co Ltd was a short-lived British airline operating flying boats across the English Channel in 1923 and 1924. It merged with three other airlines in 1924 to form Imperial Airways. Formation British Marine Air Navig ...

. There is a history of the airline: ''Early Birds – Air Transport Memories 1919–1924'' by Alfred Instone (published by Western Mail & Echo, Cardiff, 1938) containing a number of photographs.

Accidents and incidents

*In February 1923, an aircraft belonging to Instone was damaged in an accident at

Saint-Inglevert Saint-Inglevert (; vls, Santingeveld) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Topnymy The etymology of Saint-Inglevert, first attested as ''Sontingeveld'' in 1140, is now generally agreed to deri ...

Pas-de-Calais Pas-de-Calais (, " strait of Calais"; pcd, Pas-Calés; also nl, Nauw van Kales) is a department in northern France named after the French designation of the Strait of Dover, which it borders. It has the most communes of all the departments ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

. *On 13 August 1923,

de Havilland DH.34 The de Havilland DH.34 was a single engined British biplane airliner built by the de Havilland Aircraft Company in the 1920s. 12 were built, with the DH.34 serving with Imperial Airways and its predecessors for several years. Design and deve ...

G-EBBW landed at

Marden Airfield Marden Airfield was an airfield in Marden, Kent, United Kingdom. It was operation from 1917 to 1935. Initially a Royal Flying Corps airfield during the First World War it was used post-war as an Emergency Landing Strip, RAF Marden by the Roy ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

due to a broken oil pipe. The aircraft was repaired and returned to Croydon.

Fleet

* Airco DH.4 * BAT F.K.26 * Bristol Type 47 Tourer * Bristol Type 62 * de Havilland DH.18 *

Vickers Vimy Commercial The Vickers Vimy was a British heavy bomber aircraft developed and manufactured by Vickers Limited. Developed during the latter stages of the First World War to equip the Royal Flying Corps (RFC), the Vimy was designed by Reginald Kirshaw "Rex ...

* Vickers Vulcan * Westland Limousine

References

{{Airlines of the United Kingdom Defunct airlines of the United Kingdom Airlines established in 1920

History

Accidents and incidents

Fleet

See also

References